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Tag: SON

  • SON seals N5b sub-standard tyres warehouse in Lagos

    SON seals N5b sub-standard tyres warehouse in Lagos

    •Two Chinese arrested

    Two Chinese are to be prosecuted for their involvement in the importation of fake and substandard tyres worth N5 billion into the country

    MessrsTaolung Shen and Xu Jing Yao were arrested and their company Sino Nigeria Import and Export Limited’s warehouse in Lagos sealed by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON).

    Director-General of SON Osita Aboloma, who showed reporters round the warehouse at Alakija area on Badagry Road in Lagos at the weekend, lamented that the importation of such tyres endangered the lives of millions of Nigerians.

    He said many of the over three million tyres brought into the country in over 60 containers, had post-dated manufacturing dates –some of them with March 2017 date on them.

    They also cloned different sizes of tyres under such brand names as Powertrac, Aptany, Harmony, Duraturn, Bearway, City Tour, Winda, Glory, Chachland, City Grand, Grandsonte (Tyre Type) and Sunny (for tricycle) among others.

    Many of the tyres arrived in Nigeria stuffed into one another. In some instances as many as five stuffed into one. Many are bent and ruptured and looking weak and slack.

    Aboloma described the tyres as “dead on arrival”, adding that allowing such consignments into the country could lead to motor accidents and loss of lives.

    He said stuffing tyres through the long sea journey from China to Lagos had already compromised the quality let alone the crude way the tyres were separated on arrival in Nigeria and the poor storage facility, without sufficient aeration in the warehouse.

    ”The SON Directorate of Compliance intercepted one of their trucks on the highway, tracked it and then this. You can see the amount of danger that these people are posing to our people and our economy just because they want to make huge profit at the expense of the lives of Nigerians”, Aboloma said.

    He lamented that the raid on the company revealed a lot of illicit activities, including re-labelling, high level of stuffing of tyres into one, tampering with expiry dates and staking the tyres in very adverse conditions.

    “it is a clear case of investing millions in illicit business in order to take away the lives of millions of Nigerians. to destroy the lives of millions of Nigerians. If we should allow something like this, it will amount to killing Nigerians”, Aboloma said.

    ”I want to reiterate that there is no hiding place for those who deal in substandard products as they will be caught and their products confiscated. Today’s is an example”, he said.

    ”Nothing can be recouped from such stuffed in tyres, no need to test anything because the tyres have already been destroyed on arrival,” he said.

    Aboloma promised to bring the Chinese and others in illicit trade to book.

    He said SON was exploring all avenues towards nipping acts like that in the bud.

    “For us, it is a continuous fight. Currently, we are prosecuting about five cases in different high courts in line with the mandate of the SON. We burn substandard products when there is need to, following laid down procedures.” he said.

    Aboloma cautioned users of automobile tyres on the need to be extra cautious when buying products.

    He said: “The nation’s laws must be made to work by ensuring that it is implemented to the letter.  l must reiterate here that the  full force of the SON Act that empowers  her to prosecute offenders will  be invoked on the perpetrators of this  economic crime  in no short time. It is left to imagine the number of lives that would have been lost to this wicked act by a few people”.

  • SON sets up committee on standard for electricity meters

    SON sets up committee on standard for electricity meters

    The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has set up a committee to ensure that electricity meters imported or assembled in Nigeria meet the standards of the International Electrotechnical Commission and the International Organisation.

    Its Director-General, Mr. Osita Aboloma, stated this at a meeting  of the technical committee in Lagos.

    Aboloma, who was represented  by the Head, Ports and Borders Operations, Albert Wilberforce, said the meeting was informed by the need to ensure that electricity meters met the needs and aspirations of consumers and service providers.

    He said: “We have had issues with people relating arbitrary charges by service providers. Some complain that what they are charged does not make sense to them given that it is not commensurate with the service rendered. So, we want to adopt the internationally accepted standards in line with what obtains in the international community to meet the desires and aspirations of the Nigerian consumers as well as the manufacturers. SON is an unbiased umpire meant to protect the interest of all stakeholders in the sector.”

    SON’s Group Head, Electrical and Electronics Department, Mr. Richard Adewumi, said the committee, which comprised consumers, service providers and experts in the sector, would deliberate on the IEC document and look at areas that could be adapted to suit the environment.

    He added that China had invented standards that were different from the IEC, noting that the operators  would be informed that any meter that did not meet the IEC standards would not be accepted in Nigeria.

     

  • SON confiscates substandard tyres worth N200m

    SON confiscates substandard tyres worth N200m

    A large consignment of substandard tyres valued at about N200 million has been impounded by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON).
    Items in the two containers seized by the agency included stuffed tyres of various sizes as well as electrical parts with brand names such as Ekovison, Ovation, lanvigator  and Star tubes.
    The agency vowed to continue the campaign of ridding the country of substandard products.
    SON Director of Compliance Bede Obayi, who conducted reporters round the seized consignment at the organisation’s warehouse in Ogba, Lagos, said the seizure of the containers followed intelligence monitoring.
    He said stuffing of tyres automatically destroys the tyres on arrival and that allowing such products in the country amounted to giving Nigerians the tyres to destroy their lives.
    He said technically, stuffing unnecessarily expands the tyres or unduly compresses them, bend the wires round the tyre helms and create sharp points and making them vulnerable to bursts on slight contacts.
    Obayi said this should not be encouraged.
    “We have told Nigerians the new SON D-G has vowed there is no hiding place for those who deal in substandard products as they would be caught and their products confiscated. Today’s is an example,” he said.
    As much as five tyres were stuffed into one, with many of them already squeezed and weakened.
    Consumers might ignorantly take the tyres outward neat look to mean they were healthy.
    “Nothing here can be recouped. No need to test anything because the tyres have already been destroyed on arrival. You can imagine the amount that would be going into the drains due to the greed of some people,” Obayi said.
    He warned that SON Director-General Osita Aboloma was bent on checkmating the importation of substandard products.
    A second container unveiled contained electrical products suspected to be substandard products.
    Obayi promised that the agency would continue to comb the nooks and crannies of the country, fishing out suspect products.
    According to him, SON would examine the container to see whether it contained what was declared, as well as whether it comply with the requisite standards as prescribed by the law.
    On what the Federal Government was doing concerning China from which much of the substandard products were coming from, Obayi said the matter was being handled from the highest level of diplomacy.
    He was optimistic that the desired result would be achieved at the end of the day.

  • SON to partner MSMEs on job creation

    SON to partner MSMEs on job creation

    The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) is to partner Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to create jobs.

    Its Director-General, Mr.  Osita Aboloma, said this at an interactive session with freight forwarders and clearing agents in Kano.

    He hinged his support for MSMEs on their potential to create jobs, reduce crime rate and contribute to economic growth substantially.

    He said SON was investing in building the capacity of MSMEs, improving their quality control mechanisms and raising the quality profile of their products for improved competitiveness locally, as well as for export.

    Aboloma condemned any practice that promotes job creation for foreign manufacturers at the expense of local industries, stressing that preference for foreign goods meant boosting the economy of other countries at the detriment of local industries.

    He said Nigeria’s immense potential in human and material resources could be optimised with the deployment of standardisation procedures for quality assurance of products.

    He described quality assurance as a critical element of the standardisation process for the growth of any nation.

    Aboloma added that regular quality control, inspection, sampling, testing and certification of manufacturing processes ensured products met the requirements of relevant standards.

    “They also guarantee continual improvement to satisfy customer expectations,” he said.

    The SON chief said quality assurance had been a major driver of the agency’s standardisation campaigns.

    “As the apex standardisation agency, it is the duty of SON to ensure that consumers get value for money and are protected from the dangers of substandard products; that is why I urge Nigerians to get involved in the campaign. We need the collaboration of all Nigerians to do the job effectively,” he said.

    According to Aboloma, one of the  administration’s main agenda is promoting ease of doing business to facilitate trade the Federal Government’s efforts to focus on non-oil exports, with agriculture and MSMEs as key drivers.

    ”I invite you to further partner SON in our efforts toward trade and business facilitation to ensure Nigeria becomes a better place for all. The government is determined to create an enabling environment for business, thus, we should take up the challenge and let the change start with us as individuals and groups,” he added.

  • My son’s killers must not go unpunished, says dad

    My son’s killers must not go unpunished, says dad

    Family of a late technician with LG electronics, Uyi Uwagboe, have called on the Nigerian Police to as a matter of urgency investigate the death of their son, who was found dead in his pool of blood in Satellite Town, Lagos.

    The late Uwagboe, 31, an Edo State indigene, died on January 24. He was buried last Friday.

    According to the deceased’s father, Mr Kennedy Uwagboe, a trader, his son went to work in the morning but by 9:30pm, he received a phone call asking him to come that his son has been attacked by hoodlums in Satellite Town.

    He said: “The person also called his younger brother and fiancée. We were thinking if he could have been kidnapped. So the police patrolling Satellite area from Agboju Police Station accompanied us to the scene. We met Uyi dead in his pool of blood. His phones, laptop and money were taken away. He was seen with the young man that called us to inform us of the incident.

    “We later moved to Agboju Police Station. From there, we took his body to the morgue of the Nigerian Navy Hospital in Ojo, around 1am.

    “I went back to the police station the following day, wrote a statement and the officers sympathised with us, saying they will see what they can do on the matter but, till today (last Thursday), we have no information on what the police has done about the case..

    “My wish is that government should do something on the issue, because I want to know who would have cut his life short, a young promising, upcoming boy, who the whole family is looking up to, and was supposed to get married this year.”

    He said the family has ordered the release of the man who called him to tell him of the incident, saying the man may be innocent to have stood by his dying son.

    “The man said he met Uyi in his pool of blood begging for help, and that if they had picked him earlier, he would have probably survived. But, everybody was running because of bad boys in the area. By the time we got there about an hour, it was too late. Uyi was the one that gave the guy our phone numbers.

    “The only information we have so far is that the police have arrested one person, who knows the people that killed my son. The person mentioned five names to the police officers who told us they have taken the suspect to the houses of the other suspects, arrested another suspect and father of one of them.  So the case was transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Yaba, Panti, Lagos Mainland.

    “They said they will pursue the case so as to get the hoodlums, but we have not heard anything from them. I would have loved if those people were apprehended and prosecuted.”

    He described his son, who will turn 31 this year, as easy going.

    “He hates trouble, he will never fight, he loved peace and he is always concerned about everybody,” he said.

    The deceased’s fiancée, Fatimah Junaid, said she has lost hope in what government can do on the matter.

    She described Uyi as a good person, God fearing and loyal.

    “He had a giving spirit, he forgives and forgets. He was always there for me and my family. We have been dating for about eight years and we hope to get married this year,” she said.

    The late Uwagboe’s younger brother, Henry, described his late brother as the best in all ramifications, saying he would miss him for everything.

    He said his brother’s journey to and from work does not usually have anything to do with Satellite area, wondering how he got there.

  • Kerosene explosion claims pregnant woman, son

    The Enugu State Police Command has confirmed the death of a pregnant woman and her son after a kerosene explosion in Ngenevu axis of Coal Camp within Enugu metropolis.

    The command’s spokesman, Mr Ebere Amaraizu, disclosed this in a statement issued to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Enugu.

    Amaraizu said that the incident occurred at about 7.30 p.m. on Jan. 30, when a kerosene lantern exploded.

    He said that several other family members, who sustained fire burns, have been hospitalised.

    “It was gathered that on that fateful day, one Hillary Ugwuoke, also from Ngenevu axis of Coal Camp community had allegedly bought kerosene from a neighbour in the evening.

    “He later poured it into his lantern and in the attempt to lit the lantern, the kerosene exploded and went into flames.

    “In the process, the said Hillary Ugwuoke, his pregnant wife and his children were burnt by the inferno and sympathisers assisted in their being taken to National Orthopaedic Hospital, Enugu, for medical assistance.

    “It was further gathered that at the hospital, Mrs Ugwuoke, who is said to be pregnant, was confirmed dead together with her four-year-old son.

    “While others who sustained severe burns are receiving treatment,’’ he said.

    Amaraizu said that investigation had begun into the incident. (NAN)

  • SON promises standardisation, quality services

    SON promises standardisation, quality services

    The Director-General of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) Osita Aboloma said standardisation and quality assurance were vital to the nation’s survival in view of the current economic situation.
    The Director GGeneral spoke during a familiarisation tour to the organisation’s offices in Kaduna and Kano states.
    He urged the staff to look at the present economic situation as motivation to boost the growth of industrialisation in the country in line with the Federal Government’s policy of diversification.
    Aboloma urged the staff to be good ambassadors, to change the perceptions of some Nigerians about the organisation.
    He advised that the organization should not be viewed as an oppressor but as “vanguards of quality and facilitators of businesses”.
    Aboloma commended the staff for their hard work and dedication to duties, and lauded the good work of the regional office at coordinating the activities of the organisation within the region.
    He promised to provide adequate funding for the states offices, improve on the provision of equipment and materials needed to aid staff to achieve the organisation’s mandate.
    According to him, the staff welfare will receive adequate attention at all times.
    Aboloma advised the staff to acquaint themselves with happenings in the organisation through the different social media.
    He added that such would provide them the opportunity to know the direction of the government and management decisions on issues.
    “I promise that under my leadership, the organisation will operate a reward system where staff will be rewarded for hard work and ingenuity,’’ Aboloma said.
    He appealed to the staff to encourage the Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SME’s) to avail themselves of the services provided by the organisation’s textile and leather laboratory.
    Aboloma said charges had significantly been reduced to aid SME’s growth in terms of quality and standards.

  • SON lauds National Assembly

    SON lauds National Assembly

    Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) Director General Mr. Osita Aboloma has hailed the National Assembly for empowering the agency to combat the influx, production and distribution of substandard products.
    He said the passage of the SON Act 14 of 2015 provided the leeway for the organisation to prevent suspected substandard products from circulation, even while investigations to ascertain the compliance to relevant standards were being carried out.
    Aboloma hailed the general provisions in the new SON Act, which gave the agency the power to prosecute perpetrators of substandard products manufacture, importation and distribution.
    He added that the law provided stiffer penalties for convictions, including jail terms. The Act also empowers SON to seize and dispose of non-compliant products through destruction, among others.
    Aboloma, who spoke while inspecting seized substandard products at the SON warehouse in Lagos, stressed that the National Assembly had shown commitment to the eradication of substandard products.
    The SON Director General described substandard products as a serious social and economic challenge, which required the efforts of patriots to contend with in addition to adequate financial resources, manpower and technology deployment .
    Aboloma said his agency was strengthening its internal mechanisms to combat substandard products and urged Nigerians to partner SON to create opportunities for genuine and certified locally manufactured products to thrive.
    “This will improve capacity utilisation, create massive employment opportunities and a more robust economy for the nation,” he said.
    The SON chief executive described as unfounded insinuations that SON undermined the National Assembly, adding that nothing could be further from the truth.
    He affirmed his high respect for members of the National Assembly, particularly in the course of their oversight functions on Ministries, Departments and Agencies.
    The SON D-G pledged his commitment to protecting the lives and properties of Nigerians as well the nation’s economy through the instruments of standardisation and quality assurance.

  • Anger as SON clamps down on phone dealers

    There was anger and frustration at the weekend when officials of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and policemen clamped down on suspected importers and sellers of substandard phones in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.

    Speaking during the enforcement, SON Director-General Osita Anthony Aboloma said substandard goods, if not addressed, could consume the nation, adding that the government will not allow importers of fake phones to defraud consumers.

    He said: “Our target is the bigger importers; we have to start from the small ones to get the big ones; if we don’t operate this way, the real owners of these substandard products will never come out.

    “I want to let Nigerians know that enforcement is a continuous exercise. Whenever the government notices any case of substandard product in the market, this process will be repeated. It is worth noting that there has been remarkable progress since we started vigorous enforcement.”

    SON clamped down on shops selling phones and accessories at Banex Plaza, Wuse market and Utako market all in Abuja. SON and its team stormed a phone shop at Banex Plaza with Mmadu Communication Ltd as trading name and removed phones from the shelves and canters of the shop. The shop workers were surprised at the intrusion of the team. When they asked what was going on, the enforcement team, comprising police officers, then introduced themselves to the bewildered workers. At that point, the workers and other shop owners insisted SON was not leaving with any mobile phone.

    Mmadu Communications sells products from original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) such as Microsoft, iPhone, Gionee, Sony, Blackberry, Techno, Lenovo, HTC, Talk 10 and others. All these phones brands had technical representatives attending to customers when the team came. Most people in Banex, including the representatives of the OEMs, said the firm does not deal in fake products. They questioned the authenticity of the information given to SON that led to the raid.

    It was later discovered that the same shop raided at Banex Plaza (Mmadu Communication Ltd) is the supplier of most phones in Utako Market sealed by SON.

    Mr. Adams Idoko, who is a shop owner in Banex, faulted the way and manner SON invaded the shop. He said whatever substandard product coming into the country ought to have been stopped at the borders or ports or points of entry, lamenting that it was wrong for security agencies to break into people’s shops and confiscate products they felt were substandard without prove to that effect.

  • SON confisticates 1,000 bags of underweighed rice in Osogbo

    SON confisticates 1,000 bags of underweighed rice in Osogbo

    The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) in Osun says it confiscated more than 1,000 underweighed bags of rice in Osogbo markets on Monday.

    Mr Sunday Badewole, the SON State Coordinator, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Osogbo on Tuesday.

    Badewole said the agency made the confiscation during the enforcement operation where more than 1,000 bags of 5kg, 10kg and 25kg of bags of rice were confiscated.

    He said many of the rice sellers had reduced the quantity of rice from the kilogrammes that were indicated on the bags, to make more money.

    Badewole said the observation carried out by the enforcement team of the agency in the markets during the raid revealed that rice sellers would remove some measures from the bags of rice and seal it back for sale.

    He said the quantities removed would thereafter be repackaged in another bag, sealed and sold to buyers.

    Badewole said the rice sellers confessed that they used to buy empty rice bags from Lagos to repackage the quantities that was stolen from the original bags.

    “Based on the information from our operations directorate headquarters that under weighed bags of rice were in circulation, we went to the market with our scale.

    “But it is very unfortunate that many of these small bags of rice have been reduced by the sellers to make more gain,’’ he said.

    Badewole said all the shops where the underweighed rice were found had been sealed and put on hold.

    He, however, said the confiscated bags of rice would not be destroyed but rather rectification and would be carried out by the sellers under the supervision of SON’s enforcement unit.

    “Since the intention is not to further destroy the economic strength, the option we will probably put forward is rectification and fine.

    “That is, we will ensure that all the bags of rice that were underweighed are filled up to the normal kilogrammes under our supervision, before they are put up for sale, because that is what the standard says,’’ he said.

    Badewole said any rice sellers that refused to carryout rectification would forfeit all the underweighed rice to SON.

    He noted that the exercise was a continuous one, and warned rice sellers against shortchanging people.

    “I want to warn rice sellers to always ensure that their bags contain the right quantity of the produce.

    “They should stop deceiving people and allow people to have value for their money,’’ he said.

    Badewole, who noted that the raids would soon be carried to all the supermarkets in the state, said the organisation would not relent in its efforts at sanitising the system.